My Mom’s Zero-Effort Trick for Removing Red Stains from Plastic Containers

If you’ve ever stored spaghetti, chili, or curry in a plastic container, you know the struggle. No matter how much you scrub, that stubborn orange-red stain seems permanently baked into the plastic. For years, I thought stained containers were simply the price we paid for loving tomato-based dishes.

Then my mom shared a ridiculously simple trick — no scrubbing, no soaking overnight, and almost no effort at all.

And it works like magic.

Why Red Stains Are So Stubborn

Tomato sauces, curries, and other richly colored foods contain natural pigments (like lycopene) that cling to porous plastic surfaces. Heat from the microwave makes it worse, allowing the color to seep deeper into the material.

That’s why dish soap alone rarely does the job.

But here’s the trick.